Discover Reftele

Reftele offers several ways to shape your stay: Källebackens Golfbana, Lake Draven with opportunities for birdwatching, and several cultural and historical sites in the town. If you’re looking for a hotel in Reftele, you can start by deciding whether golf, nature or local history should be your main focus. These themes are distinct: at Draven, the path around the lake and birdwatching take centre stage, while architecture, school history and regional traditions shape the picture in town.

Nature, Birdwatching and Golf

Källebackens Golfbana is a moderately hilly woodland and meadow course with several water features. The course is suitable for beginners as well as more experienced players. Golf is therefore a clearly defined way to spend time in Reftele, whether you’re gaining your first experience or looking for a more challenging round.

Draven lies three kilometres southeast of Reftele. An orange-marked path runs around the lake and is about ten kilometres long. Since the condition of the path can change, it’s advisable to check current trail conditions before your visit. The approximate length helps with planning, without implying a particular walking time or difficulty level.

There are several birdwatching towers and a hide in the area around Draven. When planning your visit, you can decide whether to focus mainly on the route or on the birdwatching opportunities.

Architecture and Collections

The former Reftele tingshus is an example of turn-of-the-century brick architecture. It was built in 1903/04 to plans by master builder John Johnsson of Värnamo. The building stands in a garden in the town centre, surrounded by large trees and a spruce hedge.

The Ölmestad school and industrial museum is housed in the old Ölmestad school, built in 1926. Its collections include objects from closed schools in the former municipality of Reftele, as well as more than 800 school wall charts. The textile exhibition covers the processing of flax and wool, ribbon weaving and sewing; it also displays textile-care equipment. Alongside the history of the school, it therefore highlights a range of textile crafts and their tools.

If you’d like to explore local history beyond individual buildings, you’ll find other specific points of interest: Reftele’s older railway station building dates from 1876. Reftele hembygdsgård consists of a simple dwelling house, a barn and a smithy. The small farmstead lies in a cultural landscape surrounded by pastureland. The old Brödrahalla court site is near the hembygdsgård.

Local Traditions and Getting There

Local traditions include the Drängalyft stones. Drängalyft refers to stones that farmhands lifted to prove their strength. According to tradition, the Drängalyft stones in Reftele were to be lifted with one hand. This traditional test of strength adds another insight into local culture alongside the historic buildings and collections.

Reftele is accessible via provincial road 153. The Krösatågen rail service between Halmstad and Nässjö also passes through Reftele. If you’re planning your trip by train, check the timetable for your specific travel date. The road and railway offer two different options for planning your journey; you can then choose your accommodation based on whether golf, nature or local history matters most to you.

Discover more destinations: Skeppshult, Hestra, Broaryd, Burseryd, Gislaved, Smålandsstenar, Anderstorp, Bosebo.

Return to the main travel overview: Gislaved.